Golf tee mat



Dec/ll, 1934. c. w. KOHLER 1,983,671

GOLF TEE MAT Filed March 12, 1932 yg Lf //0 4 may L I V [baa/Es 0155/5/51? J3 Patented Dec. 11, 1934 1,%83,67l

UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE GOLF TEE MAT Charles W. Kohler, Akron, Ohio, assignor to The B. F. Goodrich Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 12, 1932, Serial No; 598,372 8 Claims. (01. 154-49 This invention relates to mats for use on the of sawdust are themselves compressible. The

teeing grounds of golf courses. sawdust may be dyed before using, to color the At the present time the teeing grounds of golf slab.

courses are usually built of soil covered with a Suitable results have also been obtained with relayer of level turf in which wooden or composition claimed rubber alone but the addition of oils, 5 tees may be readily inserted. The maintenance waxes, greases, and other softening agents and expense is relatively high and the turf is rapidly wood flour, sawdust, whiting, or other vegetable or worn away or locally injured, especially when used mineral fillers to reduce the adhesiveness and by inexperienced players. As the underlying soil strength of the rubber is desirable.

l0 usually contains a large portion of clay which Where it is desired to vulcanize any of these becomes hard and dry when exposed to the sun compounds the addition of sulfur to the extent of and air, it becomes dif'clcult to insert wooden tees 3 percent of the weight of reclaim may be added. when the turf is worn away. The plastic layers may also be made by using The principal objects of the present invention a certain amount of unvulcanized crude rubber,

are to provide a. mat which will be an acceptable although the cost of such compounds is greater l5 substitute for turf, which will withstand abuse, than when reclaimed rubber alone is used and which may be embedded on a level with the surgreater amounts of softening agents and fillers rounding turf, and may be readily replaced. must be added in order to reduce the strength and Other objects will appear from the following destroy the adhesiveness to such a degree that 2 description and the accompanying drawing. tees may be pressed through the material and In the drawing: withdrawn therefrom without difficulty. Fig. 1 is a perspective View of the tee mat, por- As the material of the slabs or layers 10, 11,

tions being broken away to show the construction. 12 is of a plastic nature it is desirable to limit Fig. 2 is a vertical cross section of the tee mat the flow of the material when under pressure to embedded in a teeing ground, part of the mat and. a certain extent and for this purpose reinforcing 25 of the ground being broken away, the section layers 13, 14, 15 and 16 may be incorporated in being taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1. the mat. These may generally consist of any Referring to the drawing, the mat comprises one loosely woven or foraminous material such as netor more layers of plastic material 10, 11, and 12 ting formed either of vegetable fiber or metallic and teXtile layers Such as d 16 ay wire or of other penetrable or perforated sheet 0 be interposed therebetween and over the exposed material. I have found, for example, that these faces thereof- The Plastic material pr g reinforcements may be economically constructed the layers 10, l1, and 12 is preferably plastic comof burlap or similar textile material. position having the consistency of Stiff ough The layer 16 may be dyed to match the surand containing suflicient non-plastic material of rounding turf. 35 low frictional resistance as to extend the plastic When the mat is built up of a plurality of plastic and provide a mat having low resistance to penelayers I prefer to form the complete mat so that t a but having sufficient p w of ov ry to the underlying layers extend beyond the top layat least partially close openings formed therein by er at two opposite margins of the mat as the penetration of tees. The plastic composition at 1'7, 17 and to form openings 18 there- 40 may be either vulcanized, partially vulcanized or through so that pins 19 may be passed unvulcanized rubber. through the mat into the sub-soil to hold As an illustration of a rubber composition suitthe mat in place. The other margins of the mat able for making such mats the following example may be notched as at 20 so as to interlock with is given. the surrounding soil. The soil or turf may be placed over the shouldered ends 1'7 as at 21 to Parts by weight conceal the fastemng devices. g iq g fkg i f; The reinforcing layer 15 extending over the es alme r shouldered ends 1'? assists in retaining the mat r The materials should be thoroughly mixed and on the anchoring pins 19.

may be used without subjecting to vulcanization. In the use of the device wood or composition The reclaimed rubber is preferably of the type tees may be readily inserted at any position on the made from tire beads, and mineral fillers such as mat. As the tee is withdrawn the plastic mawhiting, clay or zinc oxide may be added to the terial recovers to such an extent as to partially reclaimed rubber. The relatively large particles close the opening so that other tees may be 5 5 sufiicient recovery inserted thereafter in the same or other positions.

I claim:

1. A tee mat comprising a layer of rubber composition having low resistance to penetration and to automatically partially close an opening formed by insertion on a tee there- 1n.

2. A tee mat comprising a layer consisting chiefly of reclaimed rubber having low resistance to penetration.

3. A tee mat comprising a layer consisting chiefly of reclaimed rubber and containing a sufficient quantity of non-plastic filling material to substantially reduce its adhesiveness and resistance to penetration.

4. A tee mat comprising a layer formed of a mixture or" reclaimed rubber and Wood sawdust and having low resistance to penetration.

a firm layer of relow resistance to penetrathereon a layer of burlap.

CHARLES W. KOHLER. 

